After an international search, Arthur W. Sleight was selected to be the first holder of the Milton Harris Chair of Materials Science of the Department of Chemistry. He officially joined the OSU faculty in 1989. Previously he had been a leader in the Central Research and Development Department at E. I. du Pont de Nemours and, in 1988-89, a visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Dr. Sleight received his undergraduate degree at Hamilton College in 1960, and a Ph. D. in inorganic chemistry from the University of Connecticut in 1963. He did postdoctoral work at the University of Stockholm in 1963-64.

An internationally known expert on inorganic materials, Dr. Sleight has made major contributions in areas ranging from catalysts to superconductors. His most recent research has focused on materials that contract upon heating. Such materials have potential for controlling thermal expansion in electronic and optical devices as well as in composites used in dental restorations. His work is recognized by Discover magazine as one of the top nine inventions of 1996.

Dr. Sleight has published more than 300 papers and registered 20 patents. For several years he has been leading OSU's Center for Advanced Materials Research and has served as editor of Materials Research Bulletin, an international scientific journal. In 1997 he received the American Chemical Society's Award for Chemistry of Materials. He was named Distinguished Professor at OSU in 1998.